eSIM for Europe's Micro-States 2026: Where Your EU SIM Stops Working
Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City sit inside Europe but outside the EU roaming area — Roam Like at Home does not reach them, and neither does it reach Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar or the Faroe Islands. Liechtenstein and Åland are the two that are covered. Here is which is which, and what each one actually costs.
Published September 10, 2026·7 min read
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Europe has a set of small places where the usual advice — “you are in the EU, your SIM just works” — quietly stops being true. Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City sit inside Europe but outside the EU roaming area, and so do Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and the Faroe Islands. Two go the other way: Liechtenstein and Åland are fully covered. This guide sorts out which is which, names the network in each, and points at live prices — including the one territory where our honest advice is don't buy anything.
The list, and which side of the line each falls on
“Roam Like at Home” covers the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — and, since 1 January 2026, Ukraine and Moldova, bringing the zone to 32 countries. Everything else on the map is outside it, however European it feels.
| Territory | EU roaming? | Network | Live plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andorra | No | Mobiland (5G) | Andorra plans |
| Monaco | No | Monaco Telecom (5G) | Monaco plans — see the warning below |
| San Marino | No | TIM / Wind / Iliad (5G) | San Marino plans |
| Vatican City | No | TIM / Wind / Iliad (5G) | Vatican City plans |
| Gibraltar | No | GibTel (5G) | Gibraltar plans |
| Jersey | No | JT (5G) | Jersey plans |
| Guernsey | No | Sure (4G) | Guernsey plans |
| Isle of Man | No | Pronto GSM (4G) | Isle of Man plans |
| Faroe Islands | No | Faroese Telecom (5G) | Faroe Islands plans |
| Liechtenstein | Yes — EEA | FL1 (5G) / 7acht | Liechtenstein plans |
| Åland | Yes — part of Finland | Ålcom (5G) | Åland plans |
Prices are deliberately not printed in that table. They move, and a stale number in a eleven-territory list is how price errors survive for months — every “live plans” link goes to the destination page, where the figures are generated from the catalogue rather than typed.
The two that catch people out in the other direction
Liechtenstein is covered.It is not in the EU, but it is in the European Economic Area, and the EEA members — Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — are inside Roam Like at Home. If you are on an EU or EEA SIM you do not need to buy anything for Vaduz.
Åland is covered too, for a different reason: it is an autonomous region of Finland, so it is EU territory and travels with Finland's rules even though it has its own network in Ålcom. Both of these get listed as “micro-states” alongside Andorra and Monaco, and the roaming answer is the opposite.
San Marino and Vatican City: surrounded by Italy, billed as abroad
These two are the subtlest case. Both are entirely enclosed by Italy and served by Italian networks — TIM, Wind and Iliad — so in practice your phone usually keeps working as you walk in. The catch is billing rather than coverage: neither is in the EU, so your operator is entitled to charge out-of-zone rates rather than Roam Like at Home, and some do.
For most visitors on a day trip from Rimini or Rome that is a non-issue. If you are staying, or you have been burned by a surprise bill before, a plan on the same Italian networks removes the question entirely. Worth pairing with our Italy guide, since you will be in Italy on both sides of the visit.
| Plan | Price | Network | Speed | After daily allowance | IP breakout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited · 1.0 GB/day at full speed · Flexible 1–365 days | US$2.99 | TIM / Wind / TIM maritime / Iliad | 5G | 1 Mbps | FR/NL |
| 3.0 GB · 15 days | US$2.99 | TIM / Wind / TIM maritime / Iliad | 5G | — | FR/NL |
| 3.0 GB · 30 days | US$2.99 | TIM / Wind / TIM maritime / Iliad | 5G | — | FR/NL |
Hotspot and tethering are allowed on every plan we sell. Plans are data-only unless the plan page states otherwise — only selected plans carry calls or SMS. IP breakout is where your traffic exits the network, which is not always the country you are visiting. Prices and networks are read from the same catalogue that powers our machine-readable pricing file, so this table cannot go stale against checkout.
Monaco: the one where we say don't buy
Monaco Telecom is the only network on about two square kilometres, there is no wholesale competition, and the pricing reflects that. It is comfortably the most expensive territory in our European catalogue — a 10 GB Monaco plan was around US$187 when we checked on 10 September 2026, against roughly US$8 for the same size in Liechtenstein or San Marino. That is not a typo and it is not our margin; the wholesale cost is simply an order of magnitude higher.
So the honest recommendation for the usual Monaco visit — a day trip from Nice or a stop on a Riviera drive — is: do not buy a Monaco plan.Use a French plan up to the border, use Wi-Fi in the hotel, café or casino, and accept a couple of hours of roaming if your operator bills for it. The principality is small enough to cross on foot in under an hour. If you genuinely need reliable Monaco data for work, the plans are there — go in knowing the price.
The Crown Dependencies: British, but not on your British plan
Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are the ones that catch UK travellers most often, because “it's British” feels like it should settle the question. It does not. The Crown Dependencies are not part of the United Kingdom and were never in the EU, so they sit outside Roam Like at Home andoutside many UK operators' domestic allowances — several bill them as international destinations.
They also run their own networks rather than the UK ones: JT in Jersey, Sure in Guernsey, Pronto GSMin the Isle of Man. Check your plan's small print before the ferry or the flight. Of the three, Jersey is the cheapest to cover and Guernsey the thinnest on plan choice.
The North Atlantic: Faroes and Greenland
Both are part of the Kingdom of Denmark and neither is in the EU, so a Danish plan does not stretch to either — a mistake common enough that we gave it its own section in the Denmark guide. The Faroes run on Faroese Telecom; Greenlandis served separately again. A Copenhagen–Tórshavn itinerary needs two plans, not one.
FAQ
QWhich European countries are not covered by EU roaming?
AAndorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City sit inside Europe but outside the EU roaming area — Roam Like at Home does not reach them. Nor does it reach Switzerland, the UK, the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, or the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The two that surprise people the other way are Liechtenstein, which is in the EEA and therefore fully covered, and Åland, which is part of Finland and covered with it. As of 1 January 2026 the EU also extended Roam Like at Home to Ukraine and Moldova, bringing the zone to 32 countries.
QDo you need a separate eSIM for San Marino or Vatican City?
AFor data, usually not in practice — both are entirely surrounded by Italy and are served by Italian networks, so an Italian or EU plan generally works on the ground. What changes is the billing: because neither is in the EU, your operator is entitled to bill you at out-of-zone roaming rates rather than under Roam Like at Home, and some do. If you want certainty rather than a surprise, a San Marino or Vatican plan runs on the same Italian networks and removes the question. Check your own operator's terms first — this is one of the few cases where the answer genuinely depends on your carrier.
QWhy is Monaco so expensive?
ABecause Monaco Telecom is the only network and there is no wholesale competition on a territory of about two square kilometres. It is by a wide margin the most expensive place in our European catalogue — a 10 GB Monaco plan was around US$187 when we checked on 10 September 2026, against about US$8 for the same size in Liechtenstein or San Marino. Our honest advice for a day trip from Nice: do not buy a Monaco plan. Use a French plan up to the border, hotel or café Wi-Fi inside, and accept a few hours of roaming if your operator charges for it. Monaco is small enough to cross on foot.
QAre Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man covered by a UK plan?
ANot automatically, and this catches British travellers constantly. The Crown Dependencies are not part of the United Kingdom and were never in the EU, so they fall outside both Roam Like at Home and many UK operators' domestic allowances — several bill them as international. They also run their own networks: JT in Jersey, Sure in Guernsey, and Pronto GSM in the Isle of Man. Check your UK plan's small print before you sail or fly, because 'it's British' is not the same as 'it's included'.
Bottom line
Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City sit inside Europe but outside the EU roaming area, along with Gibraltar, the Faroe Islands and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Liechtenstein and Åland are the two exceptions that arecovered, and since 1 January 2026 Ukraine and Moldova joined the zone as well. For most of these a small local plan is a few dollars and removes any doubt. For Monaco, the honest answer is to skip the plan and use Wi-Fi. And if you are not on an EU or EEA SIM in the first place, all of this is moot — you were buying data for Europe anyway.
Related guides
- Best eSIM for Denmark 2026 — the Greenland and Faroes version of this trap
- Best eSIM for Malta 2026 — in the EU, but its biggest visitor group still pays
- Best eSIM for Italy 2026 — you are in Italy either side of San Marino and the Vatican
- Best eSIM for Slovenia 2026 — where the limit is altitude rather than a border
- Keep your number abroad — eSIM + Wi-Fi Calling 2026
Originally published on www.yonosim.com/en/blog/esim-europe-micro-states-2026 · YonoSIM — You Only Need One SIM